Judge Michael Talbot has been appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to oversee the 36th District Court's finances. / Kathleen Galligan/Detroit Free Press

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Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

The newly appointed special judicial administrator for Detroit’s 36th District Court said he’s energized being “back on the block” where he practiced law and was a judge earlier in his career.

Judge Michael Talbot, with the Michigan Court of Appeals since 1998, is four weeks into his new job, and he’s laid out his top priorities: the budget, collections and reorganization.

“I have to be careful because I can walk in there and someone’s going to get me before I even hit the elevator with a good idea,” Talbot said. “But if I’m doing that, I can’t do my three.”

He must get spending down about $5 million to $31 million by the start of the fiscal year July 1.

“I accepted the responsibility to live within budget,” he told the Free Press on Monday.

And that may mean layoffs, he said.

Notices have gone out to about 81 court employees because of the amount of money available, and the possibility of people losing their jobs is the worst part of his new role, he said.

“These are my fellow human beings who are going to suffer a lot,” Talbot said. “And I would love to find a way to avoid that.”

Among the ideas proposed for cutting costs and keeping jobs: 10% wage concessions, 13 unpaid holidays and changes to health care. His team is meeting with the unions representing court workers this week.

“I don’t know which of the two (layoffs or concessions) will ultimately be the reality, but I think it will be hard for the unions to deliver across the board,” he said.

There are about 353 employees, not counting the 31 judges and six magistrates at the court, and personnel accounts for 80% of the budget, he said. The unions have the books, Talbot said, and he’ll consider a creative idea if they can come up with one.

Robert Davis, chief negotiator for American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees members at the court, said he believes Talbot is committed to working together “to try and come up with workable solutions to the crisis that the court is currently in.”

'I wanted to listen'

Talbot, 67, who was appointed to Wayne County Circuit Court in 1991, the Detroit Recorder’s Court in 1980 and Detroit Common Pleas Court in 1978, said he initially wasn’t interested in the new job.

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His phone rang another time, and Michigan Supreme Court and Chief Justice Robert P. Young Jr. asked again for Talbot to take on the role. This time, he agreed.

“I knew that I was getting into something that was going to have a lot of problems to it,” he said. “I have to admit that since then, I found more problems than solutions.”

His calendar is full with meetings. So far, he’s met individually with Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr and the city’s chief financial officer, Jack Martin, to get insight and to let them know he intends to meet the budget. He’s also met with incoming Detroit Police Chief James Craig as well as Chester Logan, appointed to serve as police chief in the interim, and promised to meet with all the court’s 31 judges. He’s talked to 24 of them so far.

“I wanted to listen,” he said.

Among an idea he plans to implement: transferring the preliminary examinations from 36th District Court to the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in August, where the district court will have several courtrooms. Talbot said the move should alleviate crowding at 36th District Court and be helpful to attorneys, prosecutors and police.

He also plans to change how jury duty works at 36th District Court. Last year, he said there were 12 jury trials there. Instead of bringing 4,500 people in for them, those people will go into the Wayne County jury pool. If there is a trial at 36th District, the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice will be notified that the court needs Detroit jurors.

The move, he said, will save money paid in jury fees and free up four employees to be utilized elsewhere.

Also, he said he plans to use one courtroom to focus on ways go paperless and find out what hardware will be required. He wants another courtroom to concentrate on collections. As of May, about $248 million was owed to the court in fees and other costs.

A duty to see through

Some have criticized the appointment of Talbot, saying the city court system, Detroit’s city government and its public school district all are under the control of state-appointed managers.

The Michigan Supreme Court appointed Talbot to take control of the financially troubled court on May 28, but he was approached about the possibility of serving in the role months ago, Michigan Supreme Court spokeswoman Marcia McBrien said.

Talbot said he doesn’t see it as a takeover.

“The Supreme Court has responsibility for all of the inferior courts in the state,” he said. “... They’ll get involved,” adding that it is not new for the high court to use any tools available to address problems within courts.

He said he didn’t come in thinking he knew all the answers, and how long he’ll stay on the job is unclear.

“As long as it takes to get the job done,” he said. “And not a day longer.”

He wants to see better delivery of services, to meet budget and have personnel in place to carry it out.